Family's fears at East London terror protest
By Michael Horsnell in Forest Gate

Muslims demonstrated outside an East London police station today against last weeks anti-terror raid by armed officers.

In a sometimes tense stand-off, about 100 protestors were heavily outnumbered by police as fundamentalists waved placards and called for the implementation of Sharia Law in Britain.

The numbers were small and the demonstration peaceful following an appeal for calm by Scotland Yards Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman.

Mr Hayman, who has apologised for the disruption and inconvenience that followed the raid, said now was not the time for conflict and anger that followed the raid in the hunt for a suspected chemical bomb.

Abdul Kahar Kalam, 23, was shot in the shoulder as he and his brother Abul Koyair Kalam, 20, were arrested in a dawn raid eight days ago in Forest Gate.

The arrests were condemned by their sister Humeya Kalam as barbaric and horrific actions taken against an innocent family. But she appealed to protestors to stay away from today's demonstration after they concluded their Friday prayers.

Speaking of the protest, she said: "This will only provide another opportunity for our community to be portrayed in a negative light.

"Consequently, this will allow the police to inflict the same trauma that we have been through on another family. More brothers and sisters as a result, could be arrested, this will have an adverse affect in proving both of my brothers innocence."

Local Muslims who stayed away said later that they were worried their cause was being hijacked by outsiders. Many of those who attended wore long thobs - traditional wear in the Gulf - and masked their faces, as did a handful of women protestors wearing burqas.

Anjem Choudary, former UK head of the Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, and right-hand man to Sheikh Omar Bakri Mohammed, the so-called Cleric of Hate, told demonstrators: "We have a right to defend ourselves. We will defend ourselves as a community, our lives, our honour. Cowardice and Islam cannot be in the heart of a Muslim at the same time."

He added: "The Muslim community today are treated as second class citizens. There is a shoot and ask questions later policy which has been facilitated by a whole raft of Draconian laws.

"The police at the end of the day are implementing policies introduced by this government."

In a chilling aside, a statement put out by al-Ghurabaa, followers of Alh us-Sunnah Wal Jamaa, said that the killing of Muslims was the price Britons have to pay because of the real terrorists in our midst.

In an apparent non-sequitur, the statement added: "After all, imagine what would happen if a nuclear device were to be unleashed onto the streets of Britain or if our water supply were suddenly poisoned killing millions of us."

A 10-year-old boy, Fedai Bunaust, from Tunisia, handed out leaflets headlined: "Police Target Muslims: Will You Be Next?"

"The mosque gave me the leaflets," he said. "Its about the police."

A bearded Irishman from Dublin, a convert of five years who gave his name as Khaled, said: "The Prophet Mohammed said you should carry weapons and he is right."

And an English convert, of 10 years, Abu Ibrahim, a self-confessed fundamentalist shouted: "We are hear to highlight the oppression. To highlight the tyranny of the British."

Police have yet to find what specific intelligence suggested they would discover in the house where the brothers were arrested.

Mr Hayman insisted the raid in Lansdown Road, which involved close to 250 officers, some wearing chemical protection suits, was necessary and proportionate. He added: "What we are planning in the next couple of weeks is joint meetings with the community to share with them our planning options and considerations and to ask them to tell us whether they see anything differently."

Police have until tomorrow to question the brothers, who are being held at the high security Paddington Green police station in London.

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